I conducted a similar search to Meredith on a copy of Kim I downloaded from Project Gutenburg. With identical results.
Most of the references to “life” in the text are about living a long life, and the wheel of life, and perhaps the tedium of reincarnation (as believed by Buddhists). “Brevity” didn’t feature at all.
Fascinating that the quote is attributed so widely and consistently to RK and referenced to Kim. I am intrigued and look forward to somebody solving the mystery.
There was a quote quite a few years back that was attributed (often. but less widely) to RK. That ended up being from an expert gardener in the US whose surname was Kipling. I can’t recall that quote at the moment, but I am sure it had something to do with growing things.
> On 3 Jan 2019, at 12:36 pm, Meredith Dixon <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> I too drew a blank with a digital search. I searched on "brevity"
> across all my digital copies (and I have everything that's out of
> copyright in the U.S., except *The Naulakha* and *The Light That
> Failed*, because I have never been able to get into the former and I
> read and disliked the latter long ago). Kipling uses "brevity" five
> times, always in the phrase "For the sake of brevity".
>
> In Kim, I searched also for "brief," and then, as a last-ditch effort,
> for "life." I got quite a lot of hits for "life," but none had
> anything to do with this quote or even with the same sentiments.
>
>
> On Wed, Jan 2, 2019 at 4:06 AM John Walker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> I have been asked for the source of the following quotation, attributed on line to JRK, and noted as from Kim.
>>
>> This is a brief life, but in its brevity it offers us some splendid moments, some meaningful adventures.
>>
>>
>> I cannot find it, in my digital copy, or elsewhere in the canon. This is a good excuse for lifting down the actual volume, but I might still miss it!
>>
>> All good wishes for 2019
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>> Sender notified by
>> Mailtrack 02/01/19, 09:03:07
>>
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> Meredith Dixon <[log in to unmask]>
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